Chicago Market Newsletter — September 2024

Contractor Site Visit

Our building was swarming with about 15 contractors, architects, engineers, interior designers, equipment specialists and more recently. They were in meeting with Dan and StoreMasters, our design/build firm, to work on:

• Value engineering - the process of looking at existing site materials and store needs with a view to make engineering decisions that get us the best results for the lowest possible cost. 
• Bidding - some of the sub-contractors were there to prepare their construction bids.
• Site prep - assessing the site for construction readiness.

They do all work from construction drawings, but some things they just need to see in person. 

We've Joined NCBA

We are very excited to be official members of the National Cooperative Business Association! NCBA is the apex organization promoting and advocating for cooperatives in the United States. They also work internationally to help develop and support cooperatives. Members of NCBA represent all sectors and structures of cooperative businesses, including worker, consumer, producer, housing, banking, credit unions, and more. We are stronger together!

NCBA President and CEO Doug O'Brien visited our future store recently and met with Dan.

In the News

Your Co-op was featured in the Chicago Sun Times! It champions our local food vision as well as all of you, the Owners, for your support and ability to raise a big portion of the capital to make it a reality.
Read the full story here. 

Hats and T-Shirts! 

We've got stylish new hats and t-shirts for sale! Buy yours at our booth at the Uptown Farmers Market any Wednesday, or at the Annual Meeting, and show your Chicago Market pride. 

Follow along on the process of your store with this visual of our Timeline.

We continue to monitor and report out to you on the two key things before us, permit and bank loan.
 
CONSTRUCTION PERMIT
We had a couple more rounds of comments that we then addressed with re-engineering and edited drawings recently and now feel confident the last of these has been submitted.
 
There are multiple permit reviews involved in a project like ours – 14 in fact – and we need them ALL approved in order to move forward with construction. At the moment we have approval for nine of them – things like: zoning, electrical, plumbing, landmark, and structural plans, and the rest are pending.

BANK LOAN
We are in the final stages prior to closing on our loan. A federal agency like the SBA backing the loan is a good thing, but comes with a certain level of complication and due diligence which takes time. This is a very typical process. 

Remember, we need both PERMITS and BANK LOAN in place in order for us to start construction. We’re as eager as you are and things are moving, but we are not quite to the finish line with both government agencies. Stay tuned! 

Also: Our design team presented interior decor updates to the Board and GM recently for review and feedback. Things look amazing, but we want to make sure our store "feels like us" when we open.

Annual Meeting

Our Annual Owner meeting is coming up!

Sunday, September 22
2:00 - 3:30pm
at Chicago Market

Full details and RSVP here. 

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Meet the Candidates

We elect new Board members every year in conjunction with our Annual Meeting. Six of your fellow Owners are running for four open seats. Read their candidate statements here. 

Chris Burns **	Jack Cruikshank	Maribelle Gomez	Grant Kessler **	John Law **	Clayton Lyons

** indicates current Board members
Voting begins just after the meeting — all primary Owners of record will receive email instructions about how to vote in the online election. 

• Annual Meeting — September 22, 2-3:30pm, Chicago Market
• Board Meeting — October 7, 7-9:00pm
• Uptown Farmers Market - Wednesdays, 2:30 - 7:00pm, Sunnyside Mall

News from Our Business Owners

Collective Resource Compost Collective
"Want to become a founding owner of the only composting co-op in town? We’re a hybrid co-op which means owners can be employees, customers or supporters. Details are here on our website."

Irpino Real Estate
This month's Local Business Spotlight video from the Irpino team features Larry’s, a unique cocktail bar located inside the Lawrence House at 1020 W Lawrence Ave. They talked with Luke Nevin-Gattle, the bar manager at Larry’s about how the bar came to be Uptown’s neighborhood cocktail spot and got to try their take on an Old Fashioned. If you are looking for a great cocktail to enjoy in a cool yet cozy atmosphere, this is the place!

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Get Involved

Your Co-op is a nationally recognized project that will have incredible impact on our local economy and the local food system. Invest in Preferred Shares now—you benefit and your Co-op can lower its reliance on bank debt. 

 

Not up for investing but want to help your Co-op financially?

• Donate any amount here. (can be tax-deductible and recurring)
• Level Up your Ownership if you're not already a Cultivating Owner.
• Donate to our Ownership Grant Program.